KUALA LUMPUR, June 30 — The Kampung Baru Development Corporation (PKB) has said it plans to gazette the master plan to redevelop Kampung Baru, a century-old Malay settlement in the heart of Kuala Lumpur, by next April.

Progress for the redevelopment plans is now picking up speed again after facing opposition in the past from Kampung Baru landowners fearful that they would lose ownership of their prime land.

“April 2014,” Haji Naharudin Abdullah, the CEO of PKB, said of the targeted gazette date when met after the corporation’s first meeting with the landowners of Kampung Periuk — one of seven villages in Kampung Baru — on land matters.

The corporation is expected to finish separate meetings with six other villages in Kampung Baru by this November, with plans to meet with the public and landowners at a later date to discuss the master plan.

PKB chairman Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz told reporters that the corporation was currently vetting a few redevelopment proposals, having received eight from interested developers.

“We have shortlisted five.

“We’re not going to rush the selection of the layout,” he said, adding that there was a need to take into account other projects that were coming up in the Klang Valley such as the Tun Razak Exchange.

“We are in contact with large GLCs like PNB...We will talk with GLCs to be anchor developers,” Astaman said, saying that there was a need for careful planning for Kampung Baru which he said was three times the size of the city’s iconic KLCC development.

CEO of PKB Naharudin Abdullah addresses attendees of today’s briefing.

He explained that the government is pushing for “equitable development” where the interests of Kampung Baru landowners will be taken care of.

“Government is giving incentives so whatever we develop is viable and affordable. Development charge is low, conversion (charge) is low, lot ratio is very high,” he said, later adding that this would make it more affordable for the Malay community as well.

The special incentives include cheap development charges on landowners of RM1,000, land premium of RM1,000.

A 1:10 plot ratio will be given to owners instead of the usual 1:6 ratio, allowing landowners to reap bigger returns through the construction of taller buildings.

During the session with landowners from Kampung Periuk today, Naharuddin constantly reassured them that the corporation would not be buying or taking over their land.

“We are government officers that are working to help. We are at your service.

“We are not taking your land. We don’t change the status of your land unless you yourself apply,” Naharuddin told the landowners.

“Our purpose is to develop the potential of your land,” he told them.

PKB chairman Datuk Astaman Abdul Aziz said the corporation was currently vetting a few redevelopment proposals.

Kampung Baru is categorised as Malay agricultural land and it has to be converted to commercial land before redevelopment can take place.

The majority of such land is restricted to Malay ownership and occupation, but Naharuddin told landowners that they would lift the restrictions on occupation.

He said the landowners can keep the restriction on Malay ownership but could open up the land to lease to non-Malays.

PKB said around 400 of the landowners in Kampung Periuk showed up for the briefing today.

PKB, which was set up under the Federal Territories Ministry last April, is tasked with facilitating and aiding in the redevelopment of Kampung Baru.

According to PKB, there are close to 5,000 landowners in Kampung Baru owning 11,000 lots. An estimated 20,000 people currently live there.

Kampung Baru is located near the city’s Petronas Twin Towers, the country’s tallest building at 88-storeys in the bustling business centre of Kuala Lumpur.

The city’s oldest Malay settlement is located on 113-year-old land granted to the Malay community by Selangor’s Sultan Abdul Samad.

A man listens as a PKB officer conducts a consultation with a Kampung Baru landowner.